TIG WELDERS

[port austin pirate]

Anybody have any experience with the Eastwood tig200 ac dc welder, or have any recomendations for reasonably priced tigs for home use any input appreciated

 

[jones performance]

made in china, its regarded as a throw away machine. no support when it breaks. some comments on the welding forums have been: works fine for steel sheetmetal, not good for aluminum, torch gets too hot, pedal is cheap and regulator is cheap.

i would buy a used quality machine myself over a cheap import new.

 

[TCAL25]

I've been extremely happy with my Miller 215

http://www.airgas.com/product/Weldi...Accessories/Multi-Process-Welders/p/MIL907693

I'd personally condone staying with Miller, Hobart, Lincoln, etc

 

[Jmp]

Millers syncrowave 210 is a nice machine. Multiprocess tig, arc and spoolgun Mig for around 2800 I believe. Ac/Dc with hi frequency for aluminum, if you intend to weld aluminum that is..

 

[ltbaney1]

save yourself the frustration and buy a used Miller. my miller tig machine is only a couple years younger than I am and I'm 32. I can still get parts and service on it. yes its huge and weighs about 1500 pounds but it will run all day long with the home made torch cooler I built, and I have had no major issues. just had to replace a couple of switches that I picked up at marvac and followed the diagram the tech at miller sent me.

 

[OLDRAAT]

if you are looking to make a living with it, the boys above have it covered. Something for the minor garage work, it's probably based on individual likes or dislikes. I've been thinking about the AHP Tig 2000 which is the one Racey bought for light duty stuff. It's probably chink made but will work for my home cave.

OR

 

[Headless hula]

For a home gamer such as myself, the lincoln square wave 200 is pretty damn good. ~1500 bucks out the door, and my dealer threw in a Viking helmet.

With preheating my parts, I've fried 1/2" aluminum with success.

 

[AzGeo]

for any A/C, or continuous D/C use .

There are so many USED units in great condition, and they usually come with a lot of the external equipment you will need .

 

[yz450mm]

I've had one of these for a few years and really like it.

 

[blue2184]

Is the esab rebel any good? I have heard it doesn't do any one thing great? But does tig and mig pretty "good"? I'm just a weekend warrior? But liked the idea of one machine that could do both?

 

[port austin pirate]

Hey guys thanks for the input guess il look a bit longer

 

[Headless hula]

Hey guys thanks for the input guess il save a bit longer

Fixed it For ya...😉

 

[Flying_Lavey]

Hey guys thanks for the input guess il look a bit longer

This is the one my dad just bought. He did a lot of research since it's just a garage welder for occasional use and he has very little TIG experience. He's been VERY happy with it and apparently there are a lot of positive reviews on them online.

 

[yz450mm]

Is the esab rebel any good? I have heard it doesn't do any one thing great? But does tig and mig pretty "good"? I'm just a weekend warrior? But liked the idea of one machine that could do both?

Don't restrict yourself by buying a machine that is just okay at multiple processes. Spend a little more on quality units, because if you ever needed to sell them they hold their value like crazy.

I carry a Lincoln buzz box in the work truck, but use Miller machines here in the garage.

 

[69GS]

If you're on Instagram search for Builtbybrooks, he did a review of the ESAB Rebel and had nothing but good things to say about it and it does mig, tig and arc.

 

[lbhsbz]

I have an older thermal arc 185, and it's. It's been a great machine...I just wish it had more balls for aluminum.

 

[Wicky]

Millers syncrowave 210 is a nice machine. Multiprocess tig, arc and spoolgun Mig for around 2800 I believe. Ac/Dc with hi frequency for aluminum, if you intend to weld aluminum that is..

210 is a great addition at my shop.

 

[01erionracing]

I don't know how good it is and looks like made in USA Multi-process welder for under $1000.00

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Forney-1...gclid=CInoucyB5tQCFQp3fgod-HABqQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[lbhsbz]

I don't know how good it is and looks like made in USA Multi-process welder for under $1000.00

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Forney-1...gclid=CInoucyB5tQCFQp3fgod-HABqQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

DC tig only...so no good for aluminum

 

[HBFENDERBENDER]

if you are buying a used machine do yourself the favor of thouroughly testing it and get it checked out if you arent sure. I bought a used syncrowave that ended up being trash basically because the pcb was completely fried. There are a ton of good units out there and most of them are repairable if theres an issue though. I have heard very good things about the lincoln tig 200 for hobby and small shop use

 

[AzGeo]

Many older units have POINTS (all non-digital ones) and a lot of people do not know this .

Sold my Hobart square wave in Calif . Years later bought a Miller 330 from SKIP of Havasu prop shop fame .

He always used a large sized torch on it, mostly to weld "big, hard, and fast" .

He said "it's hard starting, but works good" . He was right, he never cleaned or adjusted the points, that are mounted under a little door on the FRONT of the machine .

I paid $300, sanded/cleaned the points, reset the points gaps, installed a new power cord, and have been running it for about 13 years now .

Buying used; Study up, so you know what you are looking at, give it a test drive, "what comes with it"?, all before you talk money .

 

[Carlson-jet]

What type of power source do you have available. 120 - 220 single, 240-480 3 phase? What you have available for power will determine what you should be looking at. No need for a 500 amp welder if all you have is a 120v 15 amp slot available.

 

[port austin pirate]

What type of power source do you have available. 120 - 220 single, 240-480 3 phase? What you have available for power will determine what you should be looking at. No need for a 500 amp welder if all you have is a 120v 15 amp slot available.

I have a 220 outlets in the outbuilding, I bought a lincoln buzzbox A/D stick welder a while back, I havent welded in probably 50 yrs, and when I did not much arc a lot more gas, My son has taken some welding classes at college so this is more for him, want to get a good unit at hopefully a decent price, wont cheapcharlie on it quality supercedes price, some of the millers you guys suggested look pretty good, lots of good input on RDS, thanks again for the replys

 

[port austin pirate]

hey guys a little update on an old thread, Picked up a new Lincoln squarewave 200 tig for my son, not badly priced and he seemed to feel it was a good fit for his use,Again thanks to all
for your input P.A PIRATE

 

[Racey]

Edit: Just saw OP got a lincoln squarewave 200, Awesome!.

AHP AlphaTig 200, they are on amazon for about $700. You literally cannot beat that machine for the price. Especially for home use.

The new inverter tech blows the old transformer machines away in every area.

That $700 machine will match with a $3000 miller dynasty 200dx in terms of performance, it's really a no brainer for the price especially for the home user.

I have a couple buddies with the AHPs, and still considering picking one up for my self for field work. They all love them and have no issues.

I actually bought an Everlast 325 because occaisonally i weld really high amperage (pure copper, and heavy aluminum castings), but that machine is about $3k by the time you get the water cooler. The Everlast is also mfg'd in China, but so are all the semiconductors that even Miller or Lincoln use. & to match it's performance you have to spend nearly 10k on a Miller, it's just not worth it IMO, that's a huge difference in price, for barely any difference in performance or reliability.

My Everlast had a main board failure a few months after i got it, but i got one of the very first models and they made a board revision to fix whatever happened to it, the machine has a 5 year warranty and the US headquartes in Oakland, I called them up, talked to the tech, and within a week i had a new board air shipped direct from China, plugged it in and it's been awesome ever since. This coming week i will have had that machine for 2 years, and it's been awesome.

Also unless you are buying a used inverter machine don't waste your money buying used name brand (Miller or Lincoln) welders, the inverter machines are so superior to transformer machines it's not even comparable, especially on aluminum where the adjustable frequency, and ability to run above 150hz, makes the welding so much better.


$680+$30 shipping, unbeatable.
https://www.amazon.com/AHP-AlphaTIG-Stick-Welder-WARRANTY/dp/B076BSD6PG/

 

[Racey]

First project, build a cart. When i got this machine it was the first thing i welded, i made the whole thing out of aluminum, and immediately fell in love with it after using an Syncrowave transformer machine for all those years. Square wave and high frequency makes all the difference in the world. I also made the bottles sit really low to the ground, you can rock them up onto the cart. 2nd bottle is Helium that i can blend in when welding heavy stuff.

 

[Cdog]

First project, build a cart. When i got this machine it was the first thing i welded, i made the whole thing out of aluminum, and immediately fell in love with it after using an Syncrowave transformer machine for all those years. Square wave and high frequency makes all the difference in the world. I also made the bottles sit really low to the ground, you can rock them up onto the cart. 2nd bottle is Helium that i can blend in when welding heavy stuff.

View attachment 609161 View attachment 609162

Interesting... I’m thinking about downsizing my Tig machine from a Syncrowave 250 DX to something that takes up less space. So you’ve had good luck with these units? I know I have too much welder with this 250 dx but the new inverter machines are expensive as hell.

 

[Racey]

Interesting... I’m thinking about downsizing my Tig machine from a Syncrowave 250 DX to something that takes up less space. So you’ve had good luck with these units? I know I have too much welder with this 250 dx but the new inverter machines are expensive as hell.

View attachment 609177

For about $710 you have have a brand new inverter machine with that AHP.... Yes i have had great luck with them, Also feedback is pretty universally positive, i think the AHP has a 3 year warranty as well.

If you weld aluminum there is no comparison between it and that Syncrowave. The inverter machine is far superior in AC mode with the ability to adjust frequency, as well as a true square wave that allows you to run a very low AC balance keeping the tungsten pointed and the arc focused.